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Friday, 3 October 2014

The Railway Children returns to London at new theatre in King’s Cross

It has been announced that Mike Kenny’s stage adaptation of E. Nesbit’s novel The Railway Children will return to London in December. The production will move to a new home, the King’s Cross Theatre.

The purpose built 1,000-seat theatre will be complete with a railway track and platforms as well as a state of the art heating system.

The site, on King’s Boulevard (behind King’s Cross Station), has been loaned to the production by Google who own the land. The York Theatre Royal production, which is in association with the National Railway Museum, will once again feature a live 60-tonne steam locomotive and Gentleman’s Carriage.

The Railway Children opens on Wednesday 14th January 2015 (preview from 16th December 2014) and runs until Sunday 1st March 2015. Following the run at the King’s Cross Theatre, the production will re-open at the National Railway Museum in York, the show’s original home, where it will run between 31st July to 6th September 2015.

Joe Borret (EMEA Director of Real Estate & Construction at Google) said, "Google is pleased to help bring The Railway Children to King's Cross, Europe's most connected train station. Working with this production will be a great way to engage with the local community while we continue to plan our new UK headquarters."

The production at King’s Cross Theatre is in support of the Railway Children Charity that aims to help homeless and runaway children throughout the world, with £1 per ticket donated to the charity.

Directed by Damian Cruden, with design by Jo Scotcher, lighting by Richard G. Jones, music by Christopher Madin and sound by Craig Vear, Mike Kenny’s adaptation of The Railway Children was first produced by York Theatre Royal at the National Railway Museum, York, where it enjoyed two sell-out and critically acclaimed seasons in 2008 and 2009.

The production then opened at Waterloo Station in the former Eurostar terminal in July 2010, where it again played two critically acclaimed sell-out seasons and won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, before opening in Toronto in 2011 in a temporary theatre built at the base of CN Tower in Roundhouse Park.

The Railway Children tells the story of Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis, three children whose lives change dramatically when their father is mysteriously taken away. They move from London to a cottage in rural Yorkshire with their mother, where they befriend the local railway porter, Perks, and embark on a magical journey of discovery, friendship and adventure. But the mystery remains – where is Father, and is he ever coming back?